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Pat's Reviews > An American Tragedy
An American Tragedy
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This book delineates a tragedy of enormous proportions because the values of the main character are so evident from the very beginning. He is a deplorably shallow person who will stop at absolutely nothing to achieve what he wants, regardless of the consequences for those who provide obstacles . Clyde is undoubtedly one of the most despicable characters in all of literature. The girl he seduces and promises to marry is heartbreakingly earnest and blinded by her misguided love for Clyde. Shelly Winters played this character flawlessly in the movie version.
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Reading Progress
September 8, 2009
– Shelved
May 19, 2019
– Shelved as:
favorite-books
May 30, 2024
–
Started Reading
June 3, 2024
– Shelved as:
dreiser
June 3, 2024
–
Finished Reading
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Susan
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rated it 5 stars
Sep 14, 2024 08:57AM
I feel like this is exactly my interpretation of the book. I don’t feel like Dreiser was intent on having us sympathize with Clyde—I think it was more that he was trying to show how a youth like this rationalizes his actions to himself. But we, as readers, don’t have to buy his rationalizations. Clyde is so fixated on whether or not he is technically guilty, while thinking very little of Roberta and her family. I think it’s brilliant how until the end Clyde is torn between whether he does in fact have a newfound faith or doesn’t � that felt so true to the character, wanting security and love from others but ultimately being deeply, deeply self-centered.
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Yes, I totally agree. Clyde may have been diagnosed as a psychopath in the future. Hope your next reading experience is equally absorbing.
